1
as in ungrammatical
violating approved patterns of speaking and writing
most of the messages left on the Web site's bulletin board are illiterate
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ignorant
lacking in education or the knowledge gained from books
offered menus with pictures, presumably for the many illiterate people who must eat there
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in ignoramus
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of illiterate
Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 11 July 2025
They’re written in first-person, but White, who was illiterate, almost certainly didn’t write any of them himself.
—Ellen Wexler, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 June 2025
My mother lived as a refugee, as an illiterate nail tech.
—Ocean Vuong
june 4, Literary Hub, 4 June 2025
Here Vuong is inheriting a tradition from some other illiterate ancestors: his white ones.
—Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for illiterate
Noun
His attorney argued in court that those statements were made in violation of his constitutional rights, saying Garcia-Gutierrez is illiterate and unable to read Spanish or English.
—Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 11 July 2025
They’re written in first-person, but White, who was illiterate, almost certainly didn’t write any of them himself.
—Ellen Wexler, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 June 2025
My mother lived as a refugee, as an illiterate nail tech.
—Ocean Vuong
june 4, Literary Hub, 4 June 2025
Here Vuong is inheriting a tradition from some other illiterate ancestors: his white ones.
—Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for illiterate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illiterate
Adjective
-
And in general, the A.I. bots were useful for sharpening prose and cleaning up clunky, ungrammatical sentences.—
Brian X. Chen,
New York Times,
1 Feb. 2023
-
That could be useful for conversations where telegraphic, ungrammatical messages would come off as impolite.—
Tom Simonite,
Wired,
18 Oct. 2020
Adjective
-
The league might be skeptical that the Clippers were merely ignorant of the Aspiration-Leonard relationship and question why the team didn’t undertake more diligence.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Conversations that would’ve otherwise been fun and intellectually stimulating will start to feel childish and ignorant.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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And yet Danielle is currently playing The Traitors so poorly — making big, sloppy, conspicuous moves, alienating potential allies, and fancying herself an Oscar-winning actress while displaying community-center theatrics — that even scene-stealing ignoramus Tom Sandoval has taken notice.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2025
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And finally, there is Remy (Guillaume Cyr), a well-meaning security guard at the Quebec Maple Association who is a bit of an ignoramus.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
6 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
Then there are those who rage against their children’s accomplishments, clinging to the hierarchy agreed upon when the child was a helpless know-nothing.—
Madeline Leung Coleman,
Vulture,
27 Aug. 2025
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Lewis’s superficial attack abets the know-nothing Trump Administration, which spurns cooperative allies and rational arrangements.—
Harper’s Magazine,
Harpers Magazine,
16 July 2025
Noun
-
Who says the eyebrow and the lowbrow don’t mix?—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
22 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Illiterate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illiterate. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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